Last



Apm i4, 1925. 1,533,814

c RL lINV-VILZ'YVNTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented pr. 14, i925. y

UNITE@ S'ii'it;

Leinen artnr orifice.

CLINTON M. SEARL, 0F PORTSMOUTH, GEII-5.), ASSIGNR '530 THE VLCAN LAST COM- PANY, OF PORTSMOITH, QHQ, A, C'RPQB/ATION 0F OHIO. 'Y

LAST.

, Original application filed April 2l, 1924, Serial No. 707,796. Divided and this Y 24, 1924. Serial No. 751,765.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CLINTON M. SEARL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portsmouth, in the county of Scioto and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lasts, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying draw mg.

My invention relates to an improvement in lasts, and is particularly directed to lasts of the divided type-that is to say, to that type of last which is divided into two parts,

a toe'part and a heel part, movable rela-y tively to each other to collapsed and extended positions; The present application is a division of my application filed April 21, 1924, Serial No. 707,796.

It is desirable in lasts ot' this type that the last be capable of being easily collapsed so that it may be removed trema shoe without injury to thel lining of the shoe and without stretching the shoe out oi place.

In lasting a shoe the last is held upside downthat is,with the sole side uppermostand inasmuch as a great deal of pressure is put on the toe oi the last during the lasting operation, this tends to collapse the last, and consequently one of the objects of my invention is the provision of a construction in which the last is capable of withstanding the stresses to which it is subjected during the lasting operation without collapsing, but may be readily collapsed by the operator when desired.

In one form of last now in extensive use, the tore part and heel part are attached to each other by a link attached to the fore` part and heel part by pins so located relatively that a line drawn ,through their centers will fall above the axis on which the last parts move when the last is collapsed and below this point or axis when the last is extended.

In such a construction, the greater the distance the pins are below the axis of the last when the last is extended, or the greater the distance they are above the axis of the last when the last is collapsed, the more resistance the last will o-iler to collapse or extension, but this distance is limited inasmuch as the pins must be located in the last body itself, and in the case of wooden lasts the pins must be kept at an appreciable distance from the'bottom or sole face owing to the application iled November' danger of splitting the last when the same is in use or when being moved from extended Vposition to collapsed position or vice versa..

In the present construction I have provided an arrangement tor attaching the two last parts to each other whereby an effect is obtained which is as eilicient as the low er-` ing or theV pins in the aboveoutl1ned construction to the danger point, the resistance tol collapse or extension oilered by my last being very materially increased, without, however, necessitating placing of any pins at a po-int where they are likely to cause the last to split.

It is one of the especial objects of my invention to provide a last in which the last parts are held together under tension and not simply held invexpanded or collapsed `position under tension.

parts are either in their'tully expanded Or fully collapsed position;

It is an additional object oi my invention to provide the holding together of the parts under tension and to associate therewith a eov provide such mechanism to hold the parts of the last together under tension that it Will not be necessary to have resilient links or resilient anchor pins. Such means are eliminated and the same resultsareobtained.

It is a further object of my invention to provide the holding of such part-s together under tension and the increasing of this tension at extreme positions together with means to lock the parts in extended position y by such tension means to resist the pressure,`

tending to collapse the last imposed on the bottom of Ythe" toe member in constructing the shoe thereon, until such tension means is overcome by the operator breaking the laStf In the accompanying drawing I have shown a sectional view illustrating my in vention.

In the drawing, l designates the heel part and 2 the toe part oi' my improved last, these last parts being divided along the varcuate out 3. Pivotallyr attached to thel heel part of this last by. a pin 4 is a `plate 5, the pin l extending through the of thebase of this plate is pivoted to the toe part of the lastby a. pin IO. I'Vithin the tube 7 is a coil spring 11 which is always-under compression and which constantly t'or'ces the ball 12 rwithin the 'tube against the edge 13 of the plate 5 and the ball lll against the edge V15 of the'plate l9.

Vith the parts in the full-line position of the drawing, the action of the spring l1 isin adirection to tend to rotate the plate 5 to the le't'and thefplate 9 to the right about the pins et and l0. These two plates, however, are'itied to each other by the tube 7 andtheresult is Vthat this action et the spring will tend to shorten the distance betweenthe pins 4 and l0 to thereby hold the last parts in extended position under tension inasmuch as the centers of the pins 4; and 10 are below the. axis ot the last.

When thelast toe part is moved to the dotted-line position ol the drawing, the action of the spring Il is to tend to shorten the distance between the pins 4l and l0, but inasmuch as a line drawn through the centerslot these pins now lies above the axis ofthe last, it 'will be seen that the last will now be held in collapsed'position under` tension.

It will be apparent that I have provideda lastv structure wherein the last parts are held in extended position vand in collapsed position under tension, thereby providing a structure which will successfully wit-hstand accidental collapse or extension of the last parts when the saine are in use in the manufacture ot shoes. It will be seen also that in my invention I provide a` structure in which the force 'exerted on the last )arts to hold the last in extended and in collapsed position is of some magnitude, my improved construction being such, however, that this increase in force is provided without weakening the last. In other words, more power is available. tor holding the last parts in adjusted position due to myy improved structurel than is possible inlasts as.

now manufactured. i

It will be seen also that I have provided a last structure wherein the last parts are held in extended position and in collapsed position under greatest tension. In vother words, the tension under which the last parts are held to each other when the last iS extended lor when the last is collapsed,

as the case may be, is greater than the tension under which the last parts are held when in an intermediate position.

Having thus lully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is i Y In a last of the divided type, the combination of a heel part and a toe part, a plate in the heel part pivotally attached thereto, a plate inthe toe part pivotally attached to the toe part, a tube pivota-lly connecting said plates to each other, said tube extending 'from the heel part into the toe part ot the last, and aspring within said tube and cooperating with said plates to maintain the last parts in extended position and in collapsed position under tension.

In testimony whereot,-I atiix iny signature.

CLINTON M. sEAnL. 

